Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation

Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC)

Type	Crown corporation, financial services
Industry	Financial services, consulting, venture capital
Founded	Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, 2005
Key people	Pawan Chugh (CEO), Darrell Beaulieu (Chairman)
Total assets	$16.2 million (F2012)^[1]
Number of employees	17 (F2012)
Website

The Business Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) is a territorial Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories. Its mandate is to help create and develop Northwest Territories businesses through financing, subordinate financing, venture capital and consulting services, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.^[2]

History

The BDIC was founded in 2005. It was established pursuant to the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act. It is the successor to both the former Business Credit Corporation and the Business Development Corporation.

Services

The BDIC offers a variety of services, either directly or through strategic partnerships with other organizations.

Financial Programs

Term Loans

This is the most common type of credit facility. Under the BDIC Act and its Regulations, a client may borrow up to grand total of $2,000,000. Loans are structured over a fixed period, with an amortization period of up to 25 years. Rates of interest are determined based on the credit worthiness of the client. Rates are usually prime rate plus 2,3 or 4 percent.

Irrevocable Letter of Credit

The BDIC offers an irrevocable letter of credit so a client may secure some form of credit from a conventional financial institution. Clients must pay a service fee for this product. Fees are determined based on risk.

Venture Investment Program

The BDIC may invest in a NWT business. The client must issue special shares to the BDIC. Although the BDIC may seek a seat on the client board of directs, in practice the BDIC rarely gets involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.

As profits increase, clients must pay dividens on the shares held by the BDIC. The client has the option to buy back these shares at an agreed upon rate.

Business Development Project Fund

The Business Development Project Fund (BDPF) is a special fund administered by the BDIC for awarding grants to entrepreneurs. Clients are not required to repay anything received through the BDPF. A prime objective of the BDIC, and in particular of the BDPF is to reduce regional disparities. Eligibility for a grant is as follows:

Community Level	BDPF Basic Contribution	Aftercare
Level 1 (Yellowknife, Inuvik, Fort Smith or Hay River)	$10,000 in any five year period	$2,500 for a lifetime
Level 2 (Any non-Level 1 NWT community)	$20,000 in any five year peiod	$5,000 for a lifetime

Permitted business activities for a basic BDPF grant are:

Start-up funding
Fesability study
Marketing expenses
Acquisition of business assets
Purchase of artisan supplies
Purchase of hunting tools

Clients must establish both need and viability. Grants may be nonetheless refused on grounds that the grant would cause market disruption or would otherwise be contrary to the public interest.

Permitted uses of an aftercare contribution are:

Purchase of accounting software
Attendance at an educational seminar promoted by the BDIC (including travel and incidentals)

Subsidiaries

The BDIC owns a number of subsidiary corporations. They are mostly located in remote NWT communities. These subsidiaries create economic activity and employment in areas with little of either.

Business Services and Programs

Through a variety of partnerships with several organizations, the BDIC delivers educational seminars directed at NWT entrepreneurs.

The BDIC headquarters has a drop-in centre with computers available for use as well as a library which is open to the public.

Corporate governance

The BDIC is an arms-length Crown Corporation. Members of the Board of Directors are appointed by the Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment. Officers of the BDIC are members of the public service, but the officers report to the board rather than the minister

Decisions on granting funding rests with the Board of Directors. The Board in turn delegates this duty to the Application Review Committee (ARC), a committee of the CEO and senior management of the BDIC. Decisions rendered by ARC can be reviewed by the Board, but in practice the Board rarely interferes.

Controversies

NWT General Election 2011

During the 2011 NWT general election, it was revealed that a candidate, Daryl Dolynny was being sued by the BDIC for collection on a personal guarantee signed by Dolynny and his business associates.^[3]

After Dolynny was elected but before he was sworn in formally, he corresponded with the BDIC and its solicitors, accusing a BDIC employee of advising the CBC of the existence of the pending lawsuit.^[4]^[5] CBC reported several times that it did not obtain any information from the BDIC employee in question. The actions of Dolynny were perceived as unethical by a leading expert in public service ethics.^[6]

Inconsistent Collection Practices

Since both the Financial Administration Act (NWT) and BDIC Act mandate that the BDIC must act with due diligence in administering loans, the BDIC is vested with the responsibility to collect on delinquent credit account. Given the size of the jurisdiction and the familiarity between one another in smaller communities, this can naturally be quite contentious.

For instance, in October 2011 the BDIC was in the process of foreclosing on the home of a business owner due to a delinquent loan. Despite the BDIC acting in full accordance with its mandate, the clients received very sympathetic media coverage. The family home being foreclosed on housed a family of eight. On the other hand, other delinquent BDIC clients may not be subject to the same level of aggressive collection.^[7]

External links

References

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